Beauty School
by sailorbutts
Summary: Minako has always been happy to presume herself an Aphrodite, but when she meets the heir to the Martian throne, it becomes apparent that even she has a thing or two yet to learn about what beauty really is. ReiMina, drabble-esque, Silver Millennium.
1. strangeness and charm

**I.**

The girl stood elevated on the tips of her bare, dirty little toes, her right arm dangling uselessly by her side and jolting painfully every time she jumped or cheered. Despite her predicament, her eyes were alight with gaiety, and when the brittle Martian language flowed from her thin and bloodied lips it was as though with each cry her whole heart had gone flying to the one that was fighting for her in the pit.

"Want a boost?"

The child did not turn to look at her. She had begun to grimace suddenly – typical Martian, to be disgusted at the notion of weakness – but when she had had enough of her inability to view her friend's standings she grunted a little grunt and moved her little head a little. Wordlessly, she mounted the strange, golden-haired foreigner's back, and let her broken appendage fall over her shoulder.

"You understand Lunarian, kid?"

Minako turned to the fight, and the girl grumbled.

"Obviously."

The "pit", as she had heard it called many times by locals, wasn't really a pit at all. There was no dip in the ground, no real, marked ring, or any sort of organised format that might have implied that the event taking place there was anything but barbaric. There was a vague, circular outline of dust, but the violently shuffling audience were what caused it, and they marked the ground available for unarmed, barefooted, brawlers to fight. Minako felt the limb resting on her shoulder jerk up and down again, and noted gingerly that there was no age limit to this violence. Blood was what painted the walls – was the metallic taste that these people craved – and there were no rules.

In the small, ever-moving pit were two entirely different figures. The first, and clearly the offensive, was the shorter of the two – a clumsy, bearded mass of muscle that seemed to know his strengths and think them godlike – and his face closely resembled an aged, scarred version of the boy who had just broken the arm of the girl that presently had a single-handed, vice-like grip around Minako's neck.

His opponent, however, was absolutely surprising.

The taller, raven-haired girl may not have been what her people would have called attractive, but Minako (who honestly couldn't help herself in spite of the irony) thought her the vision of loveliness. Just as her opponent and several others, the Martian girl adorned black shorts and a plain white shirt that would later become testimony to the blood she had spilt. The blonde revelled in it – her short sleeves and short shorts allowed a wonderful view of the sinew – which was not too much and certainly not too little – in the girl's arms and legs, which flexed in an entrancing way with every punch or kick she threw.

"What's her name?"

The child, of course, knew exactly who the foreigner was talking about, and Minako could feel her puff her little chest as best as she could against her back.

"Rei!" she boomed proudly.

Rei took a blow to the ribs, and Minako winced. Dirt seeped up between the warrior's toes as she planted her feet into the ground, trying to cushion the hit and keep herself standing. Though she stood strong, Minako knew those ribs were broken – taking into account the ungodly size of her opponent's fist, they had to be.

"You can call _me_ Aya," the little girl announced, with an air of thinking herself absolutely magnanimous. "Who're you?"

The blonde only half-listened as she watched an elbow smash into Rei's pretty face. The Martian's teeth were red as she grimaced, and her nose was bloodied and leaning a little further to the right than it had been before. Broken, again – but somehow Minako knew it had been several times before.

"Minako," she offered.

"Mee-naaaah-ko," the child sounded out curiously. "That's a funny name."

"It's Venusian."

Aya's giggles reverberated through Minako's entire body, and the girl made some blunt, underhanded comment about Venusians being sissies who sat in hot tubs, had ten lovers, and no sense of loyalty or honour. Minako tuned her out.

After much being pushed and pushing others to get a better view of the brawl, Minako suddenly began to realise how entirely ridiculous her interest was. What would her parents say if she off-handedly made some remark about how she had "seen this Martian" who had been "rather attractive"? Martians were _barbarians,_ and what she was witnessing now only served as evidence. There was nothing alluring about those dark, calculating eyes; nothing refined or princess-like in the height of those cheekbones; nothing endearing about that crooked nose. Nothing at all.

"She got him!"

Minako was quick to snap out of her reverie, and sure enough, Rei was standing over the form of what was now just a body, skull cracked, lifeless eyes rolled back. The crowd erupted in a torrent of gruff cheers and several people moved to congratulate her, but the Martian girl only faintly acknowledged them as she turned to lean awkwardly over her handiwork. She reached down and wiped the blood from the dead man's head onto the palm of her hand, which she then rubbed across her shirt, careful to avoid her broken bones as she did so. Another chorus sounded from her fellow war-mongerers, and suddenly the blonde began to register that she was approaching her.

"Rei!"

The scream that shot out from beside Minako's ear was so forceful and so unrelenting that it broke halfway, and resounded, painfully sharp and out of tune. As the Martian girl's features drew closer and more vivid, the Venusian found a layer of sweat begin to form around her brow – but it was just the heat of this stifling little nowhere, she reasoned, and plastered a friendly smile over her mouth.

She was not responded to in kind. While Minako's eyes caressed Rei's every inch, the dark-haired girl only allowed their gazes to meet briefly, and turned to the child on her back as though _she_ were of higher rank and race. That was exceptionally rude, Minako flared internally – no one had ever been able to pass her over so lightly, not even another Martian. But what did she care what the goddamn savage thought of her anyway? The people of this dusty hellhole of a planet wouldn't know true beauty if it punched them in the face.

"Hino Rei."

Minako was distracted from her internal tantrum by the monotonous voice of an angel. Hino Rei didn't extend her hand in greeting – she was still slouched over harshly and clinging to her sides with repressed interjections of pain on her lips. She only inclined her head shakily.

"Aino Minako," Minako returned, her anger forgotten.

Rei refused her arm, but did not refuse her company. Minako silently helped the two wounded Martians home.

* * *

><p>"I'm not sure I feel entirely comfortable with you doing this."<p>

Minako's fingers were on the hem of Rei's shirt, and quickly, the Martian's own digits had reacted by holding them – with a touch that was surprisingly gentle – in place. Her face was largely hidden by blood and dirt, but Minako could sense her discomfort and found it irresistible.

"Is there someone _else_ you can ask?"

The warrior fell silent, and Minako grinned. Tentatively, Rei's fingers dropped, and the blonde immediately felt this loss, but ignored it.

She waited for the Martian's final signal of approval, a nod, and began to pull Rei's shirt over her head and ease her down, by her shoulders, onto the sheets. She ran her thumbs gently across the line of her ribs, under her bound chest, so as to feel the damage that had been done, and she watched as Rei choked back whatever pained sounds she longed to make. The area was extremely tender, swollen, and blue, and there was the appearance of blood under her skin. Minako was no Mercurian doctor, but she knew full well that this confirmed her predictions, and she moved to clasp a bottle of some strange Martian ointment that she poured into her suddenly wavering hands.

Minako could swear she had never found it so difficult not to care about the way someone's skin had felt under hers before. Perhaps it was just because the Martian was different – because she wasn't just skin and bones like most of her Venusian lovers but toned and battle-worn – because she smoldered gently and smelt intoxicatingly (and not disgustingly?) of blood and incense. But Rei had relaxed underneath her, and the job was getting done in a silence that was not uncomfortable, so Minako decided that it didn't matter.

"So what exactly is a Venusian doing on Mars?" her patient attempted to converse, her voice strained. "Not here for pleasurable reasons, surely, else you would have stayed on your own planet."

Minako laughed. That wasn't a sense of humour, it was bluntness that just happened to be amusing, but she already found herself being drawn in – not only by Rei's looks, now, but by her intriguing personality also. That was ridiculous, she scolded herself – Martians were all the same. They were...

Rei was beginning to sport a small, lopsided smile, and Minako looked away from her lips.

"Exactly right," she returned, trying to seem vital, "I'm here on business."

The dark-haired girl pried no more. Minako assisted her in shifting back to sit, so that she might apply bandages, and Rei began to wipe her bloodied face with a towel that had been sitting across the sheets from her just prior.

"Thank you, Aino," she grumbled after a while, "for everything."

The Venusian's expression softened as she considered that Martians were not the gentlest of people, and the warmth that Rei emanated suddenly seemed to flow into her fingertips and bathe her insides. She smiled, and it was genuine, and her reply was the most truthful thing she had ever said.

"The pleasure's all mine."

* * *

><p>The dark, cloudy eyes that had begun to clear a little in her presence – that had warmed up to her and begun to acknowledge her as trustworthy – were now haunted and desolate, and brimming with distrust. Minako had put off being veracious for so many days and weeks because she knew she would be received exactly as such, but now she was beginning to wonder if she shouldn't have started with the truth, rather than building a trust just to break it.<p>

"My duty is first and foremost to my people," Rei told her evenly, the caution from the very first time they had met protruding her tone again. "You can tell Queen Serenity that I am honoured, but that I must stay where I am needed – with my own people."

The word "own" had been iterated with enough force to be a growl. Minako felt her heart fall, but her little shoulders stood tall for her, and when she spoke, she spoke as Venus.

"Your people are people of the Empire, and the Empire needs you," she reasoned, her voice overcome with unarrogant authority, the muscles in her back bunched up tensely and with an attempted firmness of purpose. Rei's eyes widened so slightly it was almost unnoticeable, and something in the stillness of her expression, however blank, seemed as though struck. "As long as Mars still has a king, your duty, princess, is in Silver Millennium."

Violet eyes narrowed at Venus' own rigid cerulean ones.

"The child in the other room has no parents. What of her?"

For a time, the senshi was silent. Her features hardened considerably – not in contempt, but in deep thought – and then softened again, but to fall rather than to present a solution. She scolded herself for never considering these possibilities before – that Rei might not want to dedicate herself to the moon princess, that _she _might become attached to Rei. The usually stifling heat of the room evanesced through a prison-like window of bars, and Minako felt the cold, and knew it was because of the mistakes that her infatuation was leading her to make.

"You can drop her off at the Royal Camp before we leave," Venus finally suggested with a frigidness that she didn't feel, "Surely someone there will take her in."

"Assuming I go with you."

"You _will_ come with me," she returned, "for you will do more good to your people from on the moon than here on Mars."

The dark-haired girl didn't seem to consider, but to know. Venus' blue eyes lit up with curiosity, and she noted that the depth of Rei's eyes didn't just reflect the knowledge of what she had just been told, gained before she had been told it, but far more than that – perhaps the knowledge of what was still to come, before its time.

"I suppose I don't really have a choice in the matter, then."

Rei smiled, brokenly. The Venusian smiled back.

"No, you don't."

She hadn't, either.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Experimenting with placing my author's notes at the end of a fiction/chapter. Awaiting results.

This here is a Silver Millennium-based fic, just in case you've not quite gotten sick of those yet, and it's not going to be spectacularly long or structured, but rather a multi-chaptered drabble-esque series that will outline less the events of the past life and more the characters of Venus and Mars and the angsty, turbulent relationship that they share.

I hate to start off this way, but I'm posting this right before leaving for three weeks, during which I'll be completely unable to work on coming chapters at all. However, when I return I shall be diligent, and hopefully I can begin to promise regular updates, if sufficiently motivated.

In the meantime, enjoy this little intro, and please review!


	2. all this and heaven too

**II.**

The object of her knife-like gaze turned to her with gentle, puzzled blue eyes. Suddenly Minako became aware that something thick and sickeningly warm had flung itself across her palm and begun to seep through the crevices of her fingers – the pain didn't register at first, but when it did, her countenance did not falter. She discreetly held her reddened hand behind her back, made to smile, and decided not to think of the knowing, questioning glance that caused her skin to crawl so pleasantly.

When she smiled, the princess smiled back in blind acceptance, and when the princess tugged at Mars' arm, Venus resumed her internal brooding. Despite the senshi leader's best efforts to brush things aside, however, Rei refused to let things stand awkwardly as they were – she excused herself from her highness' company in her usual low, expressionless tone, and the princess pouted before letting her go.

_What the fuck._

Minako's head pounded kindred with her anguished desire to smash it against a wall, and she clenched her throbbing fist and gazed through unshed tears at the person who was now softly and deliberately pulling her stiff fingers apart.

"You're bleeding."

She laughed before she could stop herself. It was small and throaty, but genuine enough for Rei to smile with equal vigor for the first split second in far too long. Her hands were long – her fingers were slender and calloused – and they held her bleeding one in a soft and unimposing way.

Minako felt oddly girlish.

"Thanks for the obvious, Hino," she huffed.

Their three hands intertwined became a red sea that ran the length of Minako's glassy vision like a blurred photo, and only grew foggier as the blonde felt lips on her wounds.

And then there was blood on Rei's jaw, where her hands had just been, and above her chest, where they were now, and their tongues were _dancing_

and Minako ran away.

* * *

><p>Despite her brutish Martian background, Rei was no less a goddamn <em>girl<em> (and Minako liked to think she wasn't one too, sometimes) than any that the Venusian princess had ever quarrelled with before. For days, she distributed her cold gaze amongst her fellow senshi and never once let it fall on her; acknowledged the guards and servants that passed her in the halls and completely ignored her commander. There was something about women – like they spoke their own language – and Minako was beginning to realise for the first time that the reason she generally stayed away from them was because she knew exactly how to speak it.

As soon as a comfortable amount of pressure was felt equally on each of Minako's hands, she secured her gauntlets of cloth, and watched Rei do the same out of the corner of her eye. Princess Serenity – whom they had all already had the unexpected pleasure of discovering to be a teary blonde with the mentality of a five-year-old – was sitting in the sidelines because she had nothing better to do, along with a Mercury who was very intent on examining her fellow warriors in battle, and a Jupiter who was all set and very excited to play winner.

Minako couldn't lose. Not in front of _people_, and especially not in front of _her –_ but it was impossible to win.

Rei bowed, and Minako quickly followed suit, pulling herself into an imprecise Venusian fighting stance. The Martian princess smirked a little as she began to bounce around on the balls of her feet and roll her neck and shoulders – a movement that inspired several cringe-worthy cracking sounds.

Never mind winning, Minako was beginning to think, at least she could encourage herself with thoughts of skin on skin and being made to _ache_

and she narrowly dodged a punch, thrown less to actually hit her, but to draw her attention to the fact that she was in the midst of a sparring match.

_What the fuck._

Minako looked at Rei, and Rei looked back at her for the first time in days, and Minako finally found the strength to hit her.

Minako had often heard that the randomness of her fighting style was what made her so interesting to watch, but she, personally, found the accuracy of Rei's, coupled with the passion that each snap of her arms and legs seemed to communicate, much more (oddly, she supposed) beautiful. It was like –

_Don't you _dare,_ Minako. Now is _not _the time for poetry._

Distracted, as was becoming usual, the blonde's form – which had previously been occupied in smothering and wildly attacking her opponent in a moment of anger – began falling to the ground under the force of a sweep kick.

Her brain kicked in, and she grabbed at the Martian's shirt, and they both went down. Rei was already getting to her feet in less than a second, but Minako knew just how to stop her, and the hand that wasn't already on her shirt was on her stomach.

Rei's elbow whacked her in the face with more force than Minako had ever known, and it didn't just ache, but bled too. When she raised her hand to her face, a deep gash traversed the entirety of her left cheek, starting at her temple and ending at her jawline, and Minako felt dreadfully stupid. She had never felt so _ridiculous_

and in a moment there was an arm around her neck, and in another moment, a hand was in front of her, and Rei was so _cold_

but the hand that helped her up was so warm.

* * *

><p>Despite popular opinion, Minako had never initially been interested enough in the Moon Palace – its architecture, its blueprints, its aesthetic or artistic value – to have taken the time to get to know her way around it. While it was probably something she should have endeavoured to do before, for the practicality if not for anything else, she just hadn't been bothered – and as such, now that she was actually looking for something specific in the building, she hadn't a clue where to go. For the best part of half an hour, she wandered around like a blind man pretending not to be one – but soon enough it seemed that perhaps directionless stumbling <em>was<em> the best method to finding her destination after all.

The Venusian took another step with feigned confidence, flung the door open, and saw that the room was bare. Unlike anything else in the Moon Kingdom, it seemed to have been neglected (which was why, had she known her way around, Minako knew she would never have found it), its walls barren and crumbling, the corners encased in cobwebs, the floor mottled and cold and hard under her soft feet. There was absolutely nothing in the room – but there was a fire, and a girl that sat before it cross-legged, and now, her; an intruder.

The intruder's presence didn't cause the meditative figure to stir at all, nor did her nearing footsteps make her turn her head. Minako approached cautiously, like a child old enough to know not to touch toys but young enough to be intruiged by them, and the girl only sat, stiff-backed, cold-shouldered, and with a steely determination that furrowed her brow and caused her lip to bleed between her teeth.

"You're bleeding."

Rei's eyes snapped open as though she had been struck. For a split second Minako saw her in her purest and most vulnerable form – and all she had seen in the fire was reflected in her eyes, and all the _pain_

and then she was saving face again.

"Yeah."

Minako's body acted of its own accord, and in seconds, she was in front of Rei and with the fire hovering dangerously close to her back, and she wiped the blood away from her lips and they kissed again.

The first thing Minako began to register was Rei's mouth on her neck, and when she shivered, the second was her own scorched back. When her whimpers turned to excruciated hisses, Rei detected the problem and slapped her hand over the flames that licked at Minako's skin, and when she willed the fire out of existence the room went black.

Pushed together as they were, now that the Martian was holding her closer and protectively, Minako could feel their hearts beat together, their movements react with one another, their breaths mingle – each of them falling just as fast as the other – and it didn't matter that there was still anger between them or that they shouldn't have been doing what they were doing, or that Minako was probably going batshit _insane_

because amidst the shadows, all she could see, hear, smell, feel, _taste_

was her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Wheeeew. Thanks for all the feedback guys, and for waiting!

Hah, so shit's starting to get real. I know that my writing style is kind of rushed and vague, but this story is going to continue to be "structured" (because my writing is anything but structured really) that way, so I hope you don't get frustrated by that! To be honest, I'm not entirely confident in my writing style, so that's why I go on about it a bit. I hope that as this story progresses you guys can help me improve, though orz


	3. only if for a night

**III.**

By this time, Minako knew full well that things had taken a turn beyond the point of fucked up. The incident in the old, empty room across the servants' quarters had been followed by several other just as explosive, rush-of-the-moment intimacies, and following them, neither her nor her (friend? co-worker? lover?) could look the other in the eye.

This, of course, was blatant, and didn't go unnoticed by the other senshi. While the colourful and strangely opposed mentalities of the princess of Love and the princess of War had called for some interesting dynamics and quirky bouts of dry and witty exchanges from day one, they no longer made eye contact or any form of contact _at all_ the way they had before. Before, even though they had been on bad terms, they were unafraid of harshly elbowing or kneeing or glaring the other down as they bickered, but now it seemed as though to do so would be detrimental to their healths somehow. Sometimes it were as though they were trying to be cold with one another – and they were failing horribly, but they were trying nonetheless – because every morning Minako would find Rei wide awake and leave without a word or a protest for her to stay. She knew she didn't deserve it, but she _yearned _for it, and every single time she was denied it she knew that there was no one else to blame for her broken heartstrings.

It had never been like this with anyone else before. It had always been so much simpler – a one night stand with some girl, a flirtatious two-week boyfriend – and Minako knew exactly _why_ it was so complicated and it scared her to say it even to herself. She knew full well that the problem here was _her _– her cowardice, her excruciating habit of beating around the bush, her devastatingly good acting – and the truth was that, when she woke up, Rei smiled at her like she was the only person in the world, and her pride wouldn't even allow her to return the gesture.

"Awake?"

Rei's voice was undeterminably soft, and had lost all the huskiness of the previous night. Half-awake and dreary, Minako acknowledged a quality of something in it that was _beautiful_, but that she couldn't quite identify, and as though it were her instinct to do so – as though this were perfect, as though it were meant to be – she pressed her face further into Rei's neck, just below her ear, and felt her hair envelope her features like a dark cloud. Minako's element was the light, indeed, but the dark – somehow – was comforting to her.

"Hn."

Minako didn't attempt to decipher their tangle of limbs in her weary state. Her half-lidded eyes were content with half-sight and her senses were content to be overwhelmed with a comforting heat and the tips of her fingers sensed a scar. She pulled Rei closer – kissed her softly – and between her lips and her princess' earlobe was born a sound – a moment – born of no control.

"I love you, Rei."

There was silence – and then they both realised what had just been said.

Minako wasn't sure what she felt first. She wasn't sure if it was realisation at that _stupid fucking slip-up _or Rei's painfully hopeful, vulnerable violet eyes or her heart smacking against her ribcage like Makoto's _fist_

but she was really fucking scared.

She tried to do the only thing she knew to do – the only thing it made sense to do – and there was an ecstasy of fumbling, and she tried to escape, but Rei was holding her – and she was holding her gently – but she was _caged_

and Minako really didn't fucking want to cry.

"C'mon, Mina, our first morning after and you're so eager to leave?"

Her tone was _teasing __– _of all things, _teasing_ – and it only pissed Minako off, and her anger only drew her closer to tears.

She really didn't get it. She really didn't get that there was duty, the princess, the Empire, their homes, their people, their families, the _universe_

"Sh."

Then there were rough thumbs on her soft cheeks and Minako could taste salt and she knew she couldn't leave _forever_

but she had to leave for now.

"I'm sorry," Rei whispered, a heartbreaking dejectedness in her eyes and on her breath. "You can leave."

But Minako was bitter and numb with cold when she did.

* * *

><p>The arrival of Earth's Royal Procession in the capital of the Empire was a much welcomed event from where Minako stood. The princess of Venus had been born and bred to eat, sleep, and breathe politics, so whenever she wanted to get something of her mind – although she supposed it was a little twisted – what better way to do so than with an exchange of sickening smiles? She wasn't fond of Earthlings – not at <em>all<em> – but that was the fun of it. She only knew how to talk to people who weren't listening, after all.

However, about a week into the Earthlings' stay, it turned out that _nothing _good was about to come of their presence. She detected with much suspicion (and perhaps just a little bit of anger) the manner in which Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion had had begun scarcely to appear in front of anyone but themselves without seeming absolutely foolish and flustered. Minako didn't have to be the Goddess of Love to see what was transpiring between them – Rei saw it too, seemed to regard it with much more hostility than the rest of them. The fire senshi and the Prince almost seemed as though they might be from warring planets – as though, Minako thought bitterly, from Mars and Venus – and while politics were supposed to have taken her mind _off_ her second in command, they only seemed to push her to the edge of a cliff; to make her question why in the world Rei could possibly hold such scorn for the man who was making love to the princess.

"A ball? What a _marvellous_ idea!"

The princess' joy at this suggestion prompted Minako to imagine – with much distaste – a golden, wagging tail spawn from underneath her dress. Her mouth hung open with glee and somehow it seemed to the Venusian that there wasn't much difference between Serenity's smile and a dog's.

_You need to stop hating her so much._

Serenity was across the room in the second it took for a thought to form, and she danced around Rei in graceless circles that quickly began to become dizzying. But Rei was balancing an invisible object on the tip of her chin and staring intently at some crack in the ceiling so as to channel her concentration. When she was yanked into a clumsy embrace, the object wavered, and then was still.

"What do you think, Rei?"

Minako's chest encountered several painful constrictions as Rei's gaze dropped to the lively, tranquil eyes of the princess and a barely noticeable half-smile made to grace her features. Beyond that smile her eyes were hardened – no doubt anticipating that Serenity and Endymion would dance to their hearts' content at this ball of theirs – and this must have been what caused Minako pain, but it failed the princess completely. When Rei nodded her potential somewhat-approval, Serenity only hugged her more tightly, and then bounced away, panting like a mutt as she returned, oblivious, to the prince – her master.

Truthfully, Minako could not admit to resenting Serenity and Endymion's relationship entirely for the political ambiguity of the situation, and she was quite sure that Rei would be unable to confess to such a thing either. Even despite knowing this truth of one another, however, when their gazes met – and they both allowed it to be so, just that once – they both tried to appear as though there were no personal reasons caught up in what they were determined to destroy.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Sorry for the wait, guys, and sorry about how stupidly short this chapter is as well orz. The next one promises to be longer and to have lots of drama!

But now for REVIEW RESPONSES, because it's about time I gave you lot some.

**Wicked Hermit:** Thanks! I really appreciate that, since what I'm trying to accomplish is to portray lots of emotions in particular moments rather than details. Awkward yet comforting was totally what I was going for there (I think). Lol, truthfully, I always just do what feels right, so I'm glad it feels right to you :D

**Honulicious:** Yeah, sorry about that; things are only going to continue to be skipped! But not to the extent that the plotline becomes confusing or the whole thing falls apart, I hope. Thanks for the feedbaaack :)

**xXMiMiXx**: I'm really glad you like my style! It's always been a tricky one to work with, sometimes people that I know read my material and have no idea what in the world is going on lol. So I'm glad that you do :P

**LoneWolfSkye:** Secretly, I'll never get sick of them either ;) Hm, truthfully, I have no idea whether or not/how I'm going to (attempt to) re-incorporate the orphan girl, but I'd kind of like to, because although she was a very spur of the moment character I liked her a lot. XD I'm glad you're enjoying yourself so far!

**Jedi Caro:** Thanks! Basically this whole story is built off tension (mostly of the sexual variety) ;P

**reiko of mars**: Don't worry, no matter how sporadic my updates may be I truly intend on seeing this story to the end. I love this pairing way too much not to :P Thanks!

**CloudAuditoreFair-SinisterJ:** Lol, I feel that way too sometimes. Yaaay, I'm glad that it interests you! *takes confidence* THE WRITING WILL CONTINUE!

**gurj14:** Dear gurj14, I love YOU (gush). This review really made me smile, and I was probably blushing a little too :P Thanks so much!


	4. remain nameless

**IV.**

The truth was that – as any Venusian would – Minako absolutely loved balls. Some of her earliest memories were of slinking into her parents' bedroom in the royal palace and rummaging through clothes, trying on high heels that didn't fit and ballgowns that were more like blankets, just hours before a ceremony. She would dunk her face in foundation, bury her nose in blush, and draw hearts all over her countenance with eyebrow pencil before being discovered by a little boy in a uniform, about her age, who would scold her a little and help her get away undiscovered.

But ever since Rei, she had forgotten how to love anything at all (supposing that she'd ever known how to in the first place), and the lustre of their white dresses was gone, and the perfectly angular strokes of yellow war paint on her skin failed to make her stand tall. Bent double, like an old beggar, she stood before the mirror and stared into the colour of Venus and wished that – maybe things would have been easier if – she were Martian.

... And then she slapped herself for that. Hard.

"Bad day, commander?"

Minako whirled around as though she had just been caught in the act of something unforgivable, and Makoto saw just as much in her expression. The taller girl was standing in the doorway with her back against that doorframe, her arms crossed strongly, smiling, and Minako tried to return the latter gesture as best as she could. The Jovian was twiddling her bare toes – now why in the world would she not be wearing shoes? – but not nervously, and Minako took in the shape of a tree, spawning from below her collarbone so as to seem as though its origins were in her dress. Painted roots became a strong trunk that traversed the centre of Makoto's face, her forehead a flurry of green, and suddenly Minako appreciated the artistic capabilities of the Jovian people like never before.

She sighed, gave a nod, and gestured towards the ground at Makoto's feet.

"No shoes?"

The brunette straightened up, suddenly, as though the comment (off-handed and casual as it was) had absolutely permeated her to the brim with pride. Her chin was so high Minako was starting to lose sight of her eyes, and her grin was so wide she began to wonder if her face might split.

"Nope!" she cried gaily, "A Jovian is never more beautiful than when she's one with what's around her."

Of course, Minako mused fondly, she ought to have seen that one coming. She'd always been somewhat fond, in an outsider's manner, of the simple, technologically-deficient Jovian way of life. Foreign planets in general had always been fascinating to her, really; perhaps because of her sugar-coated upbringing and lack of exposure to anything but walls of marble, or perhaps because the majority of Venusians tried not to think about the fact that the sun that tanned their gorgeous skin was the same sun that Mercurians studied and Jovians prayed to and Martians looked to for the time of day.

Absently, Minako kicked off her shoes.

"If that's the case, I don't think anyone is going to be able to match up to _my _beauty tonight."

Makoto laughed heartily, and snapped her arm out for Minako to take.

"Certainly not, commander."

* * *

><p>When she thought about it, Minako found it rather strange that, at a gathering of great leaders and foxy political figures from all across the Empire, every person in the room was painted for war. The Uranians the Neptunians had been getting along swimmingly since the engagement of their daughters (over whom citezens of the two nations were fawning now) but they were the only exception by <em>far<em>, and the dynamics between the Outer Planets had never been particularly tense anyway. The Inners, however, were absolutely sinister; even as nations of the Empire, the members of each planetary council were looking at each other with unrestrained hostility. It was quite unlike any so-called ball that the Venusian princess had ever had the pleasure of attending.

Royalty was there, of course. As would any girl her age, Minako had been investing a large amount of her energies in avoiding her parents, but her fellow senshi had not been so lucky. While Makoto seemed to get along with her family just fine, the Mercurian royals – who weren't fond of face paint and were each decorated with but a baby blue teardrop on their right cheeks – seemed to be grinding a poor, meek Ami who shrunk in her shame an inch by the second. Minako bitterly thanked the gods that she had never been pressed into being particularly intelligent.

Rei's family dynamics were harder to decipher. While there were women clad in red standing about, none of them seemed to be of royalty – Minako frowned a little at this – and the Martian party was composed mostly of soldiers. Only one large, bearded man with bandages where his left eye should have been wore the royal seal, and only he was talking to Rei. Her father, she assumed, but one wouldn't have been able to tell as much from their interactions; they were quiet, subdued, and strained in an effort to be civil, like strangers.

"What are you staring off at a bunch of Martians for, princess?"

The voice that snapped Minako out of her reverie simultaneously had her ready to jump out of her skin. It spoke in her native tongue; was mellow and not too low, permeated with a certain confidence that may or may not have once been attractive to her.

"Adonis?"

A smile from the boy with the white hair. Minako frowned at herself; somehow, the upturn of his lips had lost its affect on her.

"Long time no see."

She nodded absently. The footman took her silence as pleasant surprise rather than disinterest, and took a step back, so as to lean his entire form forwards. He extended his gloved hand out to her, smiling like he thought she loved him back.

"May I have this dance?"

Minako cast a dejected glance towards the Martians.

_Here's a guy who loves you. Why can't you just love _him_?_

She was bored anyway.

* * *

><p>When the princess of Venus was beginning to feel giddy with all the movement – and perhaps the drink, too – she only continued to dance a fickle, stumbling dance. There was nothing but the figure with the white head and the music – there hadn't been for hours – and she was just about to step in for another round when, instead of Adonis' arms – broad-shouldered, powerful, suffocating – she fell into Rei's – strong, reliable, altruistic – and hadn't the power to hold herself up and pull away.<p>

"Maaaars, let goooo!"

Minako drunkenly flung her weight forward in an attempt to escape that failed miserably. Rei didn't address her when she spoke, however, but turned to the white haired male that now seemed to pose a threat.

"Excuse me, sir," she drawled impolitely, tightening her arms around her slightly tipsy lover, "but the princess of Venus has returned to her _rightful _owner."

_No one _fucking _owns me!_

Despite her internal protest, Minako relished a little in the smile that followed, sickeningly sweet.

"Your services will no longer be required."

Minako had known Adonis all her life and never once had witnessed the expression that became him that day. His brow furrowed so tightly it seemed to shorten and become thicker, his grimace was unrestrained, and his eyes were like Mercurian canons – set to _kill_.

When Minako had regained a bit of her intoxicated self, she still lacked the energy to pull away but made to form coherent words. Rei's face was painted red as simply as though she had bathed herself in a sea of blood – it was so perfectly simple Minako just _had_ to deny it.

"You have no claim to me, Mars."

Rei only held her tighter, pulled her closer – and Adonis was gone. Perhaps he had finally figured out how much of a liar she was.

"Your parents are headed this way."

... _What the hell kind of response is that?_

And then Minako came to her senses.

_Shit, shit, shit, shit  
><em>

"Minako... darling!"

Instead of doing what would have probably been wise in this situation and turning around, Minako somehow ended up hiding her face somewhere behind Rei's ear – closing her eyes as tightly as she possibly could and just _smelling _her – because she needed to be calmed, and she needed to be _sober_. She knew the disapproving tone in that voice; she had hoped she wouldn't have to hear it again so soon.

"And..." the king cleared his throat with an air of condescension, "who might you be, miss?"

"The princess of Mars, your majesty."

Rei sounded surprisingly relaxed; Minako wasn't sure whether to be frightened or overjoyed.

"I apologise for this being the state of our first greeting... your daughter is a little intoxicated this evening."

Minako imagined a nod of reluctant acknowledgement, and as soon as the Venusians had no more business with the Martian they happily ignored her. An excruciatingly high-strung voice rung close to her ear – _dammit, mother_.

"Won't you at least show your precious face, love? All your siblings are here to see you."

Her face was yanked away from security to vulnerability, and as her eyes brushed against several reflections of herself (both male and female), a gasp rang amongst them.

"Your _beautiful _face!"

Minako became vaguely aware of her mother's hands smothering her, primarily the scar on her left cheek. A flurry of yellow and everyone was fussing over the thing, and suddenly she grew very tired, and drew into Rei again.

"Don't fret, mother, it's still prettier than yours."

And when they slunk away, Minako had to admit she knew it wasn't the alcohol that had given her the strength to say that.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Hooray for pointless angst! Wait, that's what this entire fanfiction is.

**CloudAuditoreFair-SinisterJ: **That's a relief! One of my biggest worries about this is probably that my jumps have been unreasonable. Thank you so much for the feedback, I'm glad you're enjoying reading this so much! I'll try to update as often as life allows.

**Silent Arrow:** Thanks! I confess that I really dislike Usagi sometimes. I find her really selfish... while I understand that she's like many other teenage girls, all of her friends sacrificed their love lives and dreams for her (especially Minako, who I loveloveloved as the protagonist of Sailor V), and she never did the same for them, really. It really bugged me when she killed herself and not Mamoru in the manga; not because I dislike Mamoru, but because the world is more important than him, or her desires. u_u PGSM is an exception though, I really liked her in that. Probably because she was actually rather selfless. *rant over* Thanks sooooo much. Sorry about not including any Mako/Ami, this is really a crazily Rei/Mina centric fic. o_O Maybe I'll write something for them when I'm done this. :D

**Jedi Caro:** I'm really glad you think so! One of the most entertaining things about writing this thus far has probably been toying with Minako's emotions. (Awiuehflag I'm so cruel.)

**LoneWolfSkye:** Ahh, thanks so much! Emotion (or angst, really) is mostly what I've trying to get across in this fic. Heh, thank you... she really is a lot like that, isn't she?

**yuukimoko:** Thanks! :)

**Honulicious:** Yeah, they are purposefully disconnected... sorry that it's so confusing. Yeah, something like that; she doesn't talk about her visions at all but I do plan on them becoming rather important.

**xXMiMiXx:** Thanks! Subtlety is what I'm going for... I think. :P


	5. hurricane drunk

**V.**

Minako's hand snapped out deftly from under her cloak and snatched Rei's wrist just before the she could touch the door handle. The oracle turned to face the Venusian, and for a split second her eyes were brimming with such passionate anger as would surely be capable of burning down the entire face of the moon (and then some); but when she saw who it was that held her back, she relaxed, if only the slightest fraction. Minako drew in close, so that she might whisper, and Makoto and Ami followed suit so as to hear.

"I want you to be prepared for what we're likely to see – all of you – but especially you, Mars."

Rei didn't seem to be listening. Minako had been about to elaborate a little – make an average, not-too-lengthy motivational speech as was her duty as a leader – but when she sensed that this would be pointless, she simply stopped herself and nodded at the group. Rei gave a slight, absent incline of her head – of the very kind that had first intrigued and saddened the Venusian princess – and Minako wanted to slip in under that nod and kiss her, but she didn't. When the Martian tugged away, Minako began to realise just how much she had truly missed those lips – missed those arms – missed the way she used to – _used to_

but now was not the time to lament anything, and quietly, she shut herself up.

"I'm not entirely sure why we're doing this," Ami confessed suddenly. When everyone turned to stare at her, she frowned a little, and took a step back, as if cautious or threatened. "I mean... isn't it the princess' business who she does or doesn't involve herself with romantically?"

Minako looked to Makoto briefly, and saw the warrior's strong, righteous gaze waver. The senshi leader cursed herself a moment for not having any ulterior, unselfish motive with which to explain herself _(it's not like I'm jealous or hateful or anything I swear there's a good reason for this I swear)_, but she was saved just in the nick of time.

"It's our duty to the kingdom, and our duty to her," said Rei in a steely manner. "In any other situation I'm sure it would be absolutely fine for her to be with someone, but Endymion isn't just _some guy_; he's an Earthling, and better yet, the _Prince_ of Earthlings."

Rei's tone was not one to be argued with, and thankfully Minako had no intention to argue.

"The Empire is absolutely oblivious to all that occurs on that planet," she said. "It might just be me, but I think the guy's just as shady as his people. We can't let this go on if he's using her in _any _way."

Ami, in a small voice; "And if he's not using her?"

Minako looked to each of them again. Ami still seemed sceptical, but Makoto had returned to her usual state of knowing exactly what she felt was right, while Rei simply continued to seethe impatiently.

"Then we made a mistake," she replied, honestly, "and we'll pay the consequences."

This mollified the Mercurian once and for all. Relishing the silence for a moment, Minako took a deep breath; then, she stepped past Rei and took the door handle.

Seconds later she was turning it in her hand and blushing embarrassedly as it refused to open.

"Fuck this," said Rei. Her leg snapped out in a blur and suddenly the door hit the floor with a resounding crash and a flurry of dust that marred their vision. Minako dashed through the fog as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened, hoping to make it before Rei got her hands on Endymion and started punching his ridiculous Earthling face until her knuckles began to bleed (because honestly, by this time, the measure of Rei's anger was not in how much physical pain she could cause another person, but in how much she could cause herself in doing so).

The scene before her, however, had them all dumbstruck for a few moments before anyone, let alone Rei, could even move. They all probably ought to have seen it coming, honestly; but somehow, no one had expected that the relationship between Endymion and Serenity had gone so far, already, as them having formed such a passionate, writhing bundle of flesh and sheets. Minako wasn't one to judge anyone for having sex in strange places... but the back of the fucking _equipment shed?_ _Really?_ She sincerely hoped it wasn't because weapons were Serenity's turn-on.

Neither the prince nor the princess were to receive any remorse, either way. Minako simply could not bring herself to feel any, and her fellow senshi seemed to share her state of being at a total loss for words or actions. All apart from the Martian, that is, who had already taken the naked Earthling by his jet black hair and was mashing his face into the wall before the Venusian had even begun to register that she was. Serenity was looking on with an expression that had fear mixed up in it, but was generally far too complex to be readable; as though trying to decipher the turn that had been taken in the game of hearts she was so carelessly playing.

_Bitch._

When the senshi leader made it over to Rei and Endymion, the prince's knees had collapsed, his hands clutched at the now injured faction between his legs, and the Martian princess whipped her fist across his face. Serenity was standing, bundled ruggedly in bed sheets, Makoto before her protectively and Ami holding to her sweaty form as if to pull her away. Minako's emotions were going off in her head like a million fireworks all at once and frankly the only thing she knew was that she couldn't bear to see Rei so angry and _so fucking  
><em>

"That's enough!"

_worked up over another woman._

Minako held her lover from behind; clutching at her calloused hands, losing her nose in her black, black hair, whispering in her ear, telling her to just _relax; _and before long, that was exactly what began to happen. She cast a glance at Endymion over her lover's shoulder (for she was sure now that that was truly what she wanted them to be; what she had always wanted them to be) and silently told his swollen eye and bloody nose to go. Soon, the others filed out too, and they were alone.

The Venusian princess lost herself a moment in a familiar scent, and the touch of lips she thought long-gone brought her crashing back into reality. They held each other long and steady, and somewhere along the way the blonde forgot what it felt like to be alone.

"I love you so much."

It was a whisper and it was so broken that Minako began to cry; and then Minako was so broken that Rei was crying, too. It was the first and the last time she'd ever see her princess cry, and almost as though she knew it – when how could she? – she kissed those tears away and thought _to hell with it._

"I love you too," she said, "I love you, I love you, I love you."

And then everything was changed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I am SOOOO sorry this update took so long, especially because this chapter is so bloody short. I have a very vague idea of where this story will be going and I'll try to update faster now, but I've been having a really horrible writer's block. Anywho, review responsessssss...

**yuukimoko: **I've been pretty stressed over the lack of updates for this shipping as well. *Being a total hypocrite* I love Rei's possessiveness too. ;) Thanks!

**yuuki yami: **Hell yeah! Thanks for the review!

**CloudAuditoreFair-SinisterJ:** No, I don't like her all that much, has it been showing? ;) I think I'm very alone in my opinion... but JEEZ. It isn't fair that Usagi gets all the happy endings and everyone else sacrifices so much for her. I could rant, but the gist of it is that I think she's very selfish. Hehe, angst is my guilty pleasure. Thanks so much for the feedback! :D That was really rather a simple but brilliant way of putting it.

**JediCaro:** Drunkenness ftw! Everybody needs a bit of Rei-time. ;)

**LoneWolfeSkye:** Thank you! HAHA, YEAH. I had LOTS of fun putting her in that situation. Me too; she's haaaawt! Thank you!

Thanks for all the feedback guys, try not to give up on me! In the famous words of Tegan and Sara, I'm not unfaithful but I'll stray. Reviews might stop me deviating from my path, though...


	6. breaking down

**VI.**

It shimmered like light and it ached like a wound. It had a name; a name that her ears had heard, her lips had formed, and her essence _knew_. She could only stand, dumbstruck, caught in a feverish trance and unwilling to free herself. Sometimes, moments like these were curiously more intimate than _those _– her fingertips fondled the blueprint of a crooked nose, her thumbs brushed sealed lips – and Minako still felt the unimposing weight of fabric on her skin. It was a queer feeling and sometimes it was too much to bear, but Minako was stronger than she looked.

"I love you."

Rei stirred a little in her sleep, in an astoundingly Rei-like manner. She made no sound, her mouth still refusing to open, and her head moved the smallest fraction to the left. She furrowed her brows, the way she did when she was delivering a scolding, and Minako's form shook a little in silent laughter.

"Serenity…"

Then she frowned, her teeth imposing on her lip as a reflex of suppressed loathing. Somewhere in her gut, fuel was tossed into an effervescent rage, but Minako forced it down. She watched her lover's sleep gradually become fitful and was thankful she couldn't see her own face; it would have surely turned an unattractive shade under the green of her jealousy.

A film of sweat formed under the fingers on Rei's face, and Minako shook her awake.

"It was just a dream, Rei," she breathed, breathless, "just a dream."

The horror that strained the Martian's face had been growing ever worse as the days went by. Sometimes it hurt to be unable to understand or share in the pain of a sixth sense, but for the most part, Minako was not envious. She was a sceptic, and had quite enough issue with the present as it was, never mind the future. She never asked what the future held – she never wanted to know – she only wanted her disconcerted lover to forget her pain.

Rei's hands were on the back of her shirt and clawed at her spine, but Minako was numb with all her passion. She returned the embrace, and let them stop – thoughts of Serenity, of death, of love –

she would save them for another day.

* * *

><p>"I'm not boring you, am I?"<p>

Minako's gaze turned sharply to the careless blue eyes that stared at her. _Well, _more like through; more like she wasn't even there. The senshi leader watched Serenity's oblivious countenance – could taste the sickening sweet of her smiles – and refused to make any answer. Serenity gave a little sigh and began pacing around, clutching her own dress, twirling occasionally like a graceless child and stumbling a little on her heels. Minako frowned; what did people find so attractive about ditzes?

"... must know all about this stuff, Minako-chan, being the goddess of love, and all. On Venus, I bet..."

She wasn't sure how she dealt with it, really. She didn't know how she survived, caged in the prison of the person who made her so much more miserable than everyone else, suffocating in her own abhorrence. How did she look? Did she pull it off well, the whole protective, sisterly love she was _supposed _to feel for the princess? Serenity didn't seem to have a clue, but Minako had to give her credit; there was more to her than met the eye.

"Princess."

She wasn't controlling herself anymore, after that. Some kind of foreign power seized her; took her lips and moved them in the shape of her heart's desires. Serenity was still, and she looked surprised. Minako was surprised herself.

"If you love him, stay away from –"

Minako slapped her own hands over her mouth as fast as she could manage

_shut up shut up SHUT UP_

but it forced itself through her fingers in a muffled cry,

" – _her__."_

Serenity looked as though she had been smacked across the face; quite a feat, for someone who had obviously never been smacked across the face. And maybe she'd come to regret it later, but the moment before she turned and bolted out of the door, Minako knew that seeing that expression had been completely worth it.

* * *

><p>The senshi had been sloppy about the entire situation with Endymion, and, of course, no one was to blame as much as their leader. Perhaps the five of them – even Ami – were far too emotionally-driven for their work, but when Queen Serenity had summoned them, hadn't she thought that would be exactly what made them so effective? Her plan had been to gather a group of girls that were the same age as her daughter and have them all be friends, hadn't it? Minako couldn't help but find the thought somewhat amusing, honestly; there was something about the idea of them all living happily ever after that she couldn't even fathom. Sure, the four of them got along well enough, but what did that matter when they had such a hard time getting along with Serenity herself?<p>

"We're fucked."

In an off-handed sort of way, Minako would have liked to lay the blame entirely on the princess. Technically, this whole ordeal was her fault in the first place for being so _goddamn_

"For lack of a better phrase," Minako mumbled, smiling a little at Rei's frankness, "yes."

Makoto's fists were clenched, and as she raised them over her face, she began to tremble visibly in her anger. Ami's features were unusually expressive, if only in the sense that they were frozen and glistening with sweat, and Rei was oddly calm about the situation.

_She knew._

"I can't believe this is happening," Makoto ground out through clenched teeth.

"With all the technology we have on our side," Ami contributed, "it's astounding that we were unable to detect any sign that the Terrans were gathering such an impressive offence. We don't even have any time to contact the other planets."

"No matter how impressive their maneuvering may be, I'm not sure we want to be complimenting them right now," Minako said. "It's not solely cleverness on their part, either; it's also arrogance and miscalculation on ours."

"We're all going to die," Rei cut in, "so I don't think it really matters what the reasons are."

A heavy silence befell the four of them, and Minako wanted nothing more than to scream. Just outside was the discordant hum of last-minute soldiers – civilians and all, anyone willing to volunteer – readying themselves for a star-crossed battle. In the distance, flames licked at buildings and glowing Lunarian wildlife, and the Terrans slaughtered without mercy.

"Alright!"

Minako gathered all the strength she had left and forced it into her voice. Everyone turned to her, and Rei smiled.

"Makoto, Ami, I want you out in the courtyard with the defense. They'll need both your power and your technological prowess. I know it's a long shot, but if defense holds out, Rei and I might have the time to get the princess into a shuttle to Venus. What happens after this is in their hands."

Minako felt everyone looking at her with pride and with sadness in their eyes and choked back a sob. She wanted to live, _goddamn it;_ too late for that now, though.

She was trapped at all sides by the strong, faithful bodies of her friends and, silently, they told each other goodbye.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I'm not even going to make any excuses for how long this took orz. Nor for how short it is. (Maybe the next chapter will be longer? We're nearing the end of the story, and I want the finale to be really gruesome hah.) A thousand apologies. And a few more. And... a few more... and...

**Da Pyro's Love: **Nope, "Soon, the others filed out too, and they were alone." They were alone for the snogging/confessing part. And yeah, most of my chapters start in completely different settings from the other ones. It's been a pattern that they're all vague, disconnected scenes with a general sense of Minako's feelings. Sorry for the confusion. :)

**yuuki yami: **Sorry, I was even worse with updating this time around... but thank you for reviewing :D Yeah, that's how I'd been hoping you'd feel about her by now ;)

**Jedi Caro: **Thanks!

**WolfPeaceMonster: **Haha! Wow, that's pretty much exactly how I feel about them! It might be kind of awkward that people like you are I are into Sailor Moon without being fond of the two protagonists, lol. Glad you liked it!

**LoneWolfSkye: **Thanks so much :D I'm glad you find Minako/her reactions interesting, because this story-thing is so extremely centred around her. I love her a lot a lot a lot (if you couldn't already tell). Thanks again!

**Vanui: **I'm glad you're as fond of the scent of blood as I am. Because there is much more to come... MWAHAHA! (Anyway) thank you sooo much, I'm glad you're a fan of my style! I know that what I'm trying to go for is the kind of broken up/abstract style that can fail terribly so it's really encouraging to see you like it :D

**floire: **Thank you! :)


	7. what the water gave me

**VII.**

Fire.

Ami would have said that fire was the result of the rapid oxidation of materials in the process of combustion – that when we refer to fire, we actually only speak of the flame, of the visible portion – and that the products of fire include thermal and light energy alongside various chemicals. She would have said that fire is not the only possible product of a combustion reaction, and then she would have gone on to detail how much more vastly interesting the ionisation of plasma was.

Makoto would have said that fire was a sacred gift that had been locked away in the heavens for millennia, safeguarded by the Nine. Indeed, fire had been created solely for the Nine, long before the first humans, and even before the creation of the universe. But when the Nine had cast their hands upon the chaos below and molded the worlds and written the laws and crafted the creatures that were to obey them, they could not fathom the sequence of events that they had set in motion. Where all other creatures never questioned that with which they had been blessed, the humans were the favourites of the Nine, and those who had come before the mortals – the Old Ones – became uneasy at this. A group of the Old Ones, known as the Interlopers, were consumed by jealousy and cast upon humankind the curse of avarice, so that they could no longer be content with the four senses. Humans, like other mortal creatures, had been content to wander in darkness, but when they heard of the fire hidden away by the gods they grew greedy. The Interlopers gathered the humans into a vast army and stormed the skies in search for that which would change the course of fate – the sacred gift, the forbidden sense. The humans and the gods battled for centuries, when finally the Nine saw that they could not control the dark magic that had been cast upon their own creations. To the humans and to their descendants, the gift of fire was granted – the sense of sight revealed – but they did not let the Interlopers escape unscathed. As punishment for their meddling, the Nine forced the Interlopers to the planets and cast upon them the curse of the second sight – the sixth sense – only to be seen in the throes of an ever-fitful sleep, and in the dreaded light of flame, for all eternity. Fire, Makoto would have said, holds the secrets of what is to come, and only the unfortunates who are descended from the Interlopers can see it.

Rei would have shaken her head, and would not have spoken. She was a master of the hidden arts but she absolutely loathed them; loathed flame, loathed magic. She would have nothing to say about fire. Nothing she could put into words.

Minako simply didn't know. She didn't know anything; only that it was all she could see.

Fire.

* * *

><p>Her friends were probably dead by now. Any sensible leader would have probably taken the thought of this and forced it down – ignored it, crushed it, cleared it away – but Minako could not stop it as it overtook her vision. She might not have minded the scent of blood, made thicker by smoke, nor the screams, or the crunch of bones – but in the crispness of her helpless sight, all she could see was red. All she had seen from the moment she met Rei had been red – the red of love, anger, passion, blood – and it had only risen, like a haze, like a terrible crescendo. She wished she couldn't see it. She wished she couldn't fucking see at all.<em><br>_

Minako caught sight of a balcony and pulled the princess behind her, Rei following close behind. Her sharp, blue eyes scaled the landscape that fell so slowly into itself, and the people that fell so slowly with it. Her gaze searched for an escape – not out of duty, and certainly not out of love from the princess, but out of an in-built set of save-the-world instructions. Quickly, she spotted the shuttle bay, infested with black, Terran uniforms and weeping Mercurian prisoners, forced to disable their own handiwork.

_Fuck_.

Her eyes searched for Rei's, for some inkling of hope, but the Martian was devoid of it. As Minako was beginning to realise, she always had been. Serenity cried out as Minako's grip on her wrist became excruciating, and the Venusian only grew more and more unstable as the princess' squeals turned to cries of a name, "Endymion!"

Sure enough, the darkly clad Terran prince had come to stand right in front of them, and Serenity writhed more and more like a caged animal. Rei stepped towards him threateningly, and his hands rose in what Minako could only assume to be intended as a gesture of surrender.

"You bastard," Rei snarled, "How dare you show your face here as your people take innocent lives?"

She drew her sword in a movement so deft it seemed almost as though the weapon had never been sheathed.

"I swear, this invasion was not arranged under my orders!"

As much as Minako loathed the prince, there was a quality in his eyes that was honest; a quality that she knew very well in the eyes of another. Rei wasn't buying into this, however, and brought her blade to his throat. Minako motioned her to hear him out.

"A member of the Terran council, the Lady Beryl, was revealed to have been plotting a full-scale holocaust in the name of Terran supremacy. She had been using reports of planetary relations and other such things from the Shittenou to her advantage, and wields a dark, powerful magic. I swear neither I nor they had any knowledge of her intentions."

Minako believed him. She wished that she didn't believe him – wished that she had been unable to see the look in his eyes that had proven his innocence – but she did. Serenity had, in fact, fallen in love with someone who wasn't a lying scum. She caught Rei's eyes and did her best to communicate this to her through her expression, and the Martian seemed to understand. She considered it, for a moment – she honestly didn't want to believe it either, for reasons that still gnawed at Minako from the inside out – but then she slowly drew her weapon away. There was a moment of resigned silence, and Minako let go of Serenity's arm._  
><em>

Then, quick as a flash of lightening, the prince's features turned to dread, and he screamed.

"Serenity, no!"

The following moments were a blur in the face of a blinding light. Minako's feet had tried to take her to Serenity, but not fast enough, and she fell to the ground like a brick. Quickly, a red hot feeling began to burst from her leg and she felt herself cry – heard herself sob, watched herself bleed, as though from outside of her own body but with still with all the pain of it – and when she finally managed to fold over and look upon herself her stomach turned like it had never done before. A section of her shin had been completely torn off in the blast and her shinbone became visible through her torn, festering flesh like marble.

Her bleeding leg drained the strength from her quickly, but through her own pain Minako tried to make her surroundings out as best as she could. Sound was hard to clear through at first, but Serenity's relentless sobs made themselves succinct amongst all else quickly enough. She soon made out a now red-and-white form kneeling over a motionless pile of flesh, and Minako knew exactly what had happened. Frantically, she gathered all the strength she could muster into her arms and dragged herself over the dull, friction-induced ache of elbow over stone as quickly as possible.

"Rei! Rei, come on!"

At what was probably the Martian's behest, Endymion soon dragged the Lunarian princess away despite her deafening wails of protest, and for the first time in her life, Minako – while irreversibly filled to the brim with a hatred of her – felt sorry for Serenity. She tried to think how Rei could have possibly moved fast enough to take the brunt of the blast, but here she was, bone protruding from her hip, lying in her own hot blood. Finally, Minako managed to crawl beside her, and Rei turned her head.

"Serenity's okay," she forced, "so perhaps there is yet a chance."

Minako's heart burst. When she spoke, she found her voice broken and weak, and there were tears on her face. Rei had no hand with which to wipe them away, and her violet eyes were heartbroken at it. "For now. She's okay for now. For fuck's sake Rei, you're dying, can you not talk about her right now?"

The Martian laughed a quiet, wheezy laugh. "I love you."

Minako trembled. There was a portion of Rei's face, under the left eye, that had been destroyed, and her face was painted in blood the way it had been at Serenity's last ball. _Even then, _Minako thought.

"You knew, Rei," she breathed. "How did you handle it, all on your own?"

And suddenly, she was still. There was a heavy silence as Minako fell apart, and shook and shook and couldn't stop. Finally, she eased Rei's eyelids shut and allowed the physical shock of her own wound to take away from the pain of being.

Then, she waited to die.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Okay, so it took fucking forever to update. I'm so, so sorry about that. This is basically the last chapter, but I will probably have an epilogue or a short sequel, if you'd like. Also, if there are any major changes/additions you think I should make, please let me know. I hope you enjoyed this story overall! Thanks to those of you who reviewed, followed, or faved. Sorry if it got kind of lame/predictable towards the end...

**WolfPeaceMonster: **I'm very glad you actually think that it flows well! I've always wondered if it really did, when I read back on bits I'm not always sure. But you're right, I certainly don't go easy on the readers! And lol, I know your feels. THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH REINAKO TO SATISFY MY NEEDS.

**Jedi Caro: **LOL YUP. If only.

**Honulicious:** Her hand was literally bleeding because she had been clenching her fists and scratching at herself so relentlessly out of jealous unease. That's mostly open to interpretation, but I would say that Serenity did love Rei, just not as much as Endymion. The two of them weren't actually seeing each other. Yup, here's the finale! I'm probs going to have some epilogue stuff either in the form of another chapter or a sequel, so stay tuned!

**Sailor Makenai: **Wow, thanks so much for all the reviews! You actually motivated me to get this story back on track/wrap it up a bit, lol. I'm glad you enjoyed most of it so far! I know there's some stuff in here that's pretty cliched, but I think that I was losing a bit of drive with later chapters, so yeah, sorry. :P Again, thanks so much for all the reviews!


	8. heartlines

**Epilogue**

Minako awakes in the throes of a fever, so harshly and so suddenly that she opens her mouth to scream and nothing escapes but a terrible wheeze. For a long moment, she opens and closes her mouth slowly, trying to force something, anything out. Eventually, she gives up and allows the weight that continues to grow in her chest to pull her back down to the futon.

"Holy shit," she whispers.

To say that Minako had just had a nightmare would be an understatement, and rather inaccurate besides. Though, in previous years, she may not have been inclined to believe in such things as premonitions or past lives, those very things have been a routine part of her role as Sailor Venus for a long time now. And while she is still, in secret, cynical about the fate that destroyed her last incarnation and took both her childhood and her first love from her, she really isn't in any position to deny supernatural occurrences anymore. Luckily, it is precisely this reluctant acceptance of the fact that her existence is doomed to be unordinary that confirms her suspicions about what she saw in her sleep last night.

Permeated with a sudden will to move but crippled by a lack of ability, Minako struggles to heave her body from her back to her side. Her head is fucking _splitting; _she literally feels as though someone has taken a hammer to her temples and, instead of knocking her down with one merciful blow, is chipping away at her sanity bit by bit. She's about to dedicate herself to the endeavour of getting up, until she catches sight of something on the ground beside her. She squints to force away the blurring of her vision, and eventually her eyesight clears fractionally enough for her to identify the object – _objects, _it appears – as a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin. She smiles.

_Come to think of it,_ Minako wonders as she throws what is likely an overdose into her mouth and gulps it down with water, _where _is_ Rei?_ She looks around tiredly and finds the shrine maiden nowhere. Minako frowns, recalling the stuff of last night's dream – red, mostly, so much _red _– and wondering if perhaps Rei had seen the same thing. In any other circumstances, Minako wouldn't have been a believer in such a possibility, but she really doesn't have a choice in the matter. She never has.

Of course, the aspirin refuses to take immediate effect, but Minako is relatively patient, so she ignores her own agony and lifts herself to her feet. Her first priority right now is to look for Rei and confirm her suspicions. So she stumbles out of the shrine maiden's bedroom, and looks all over for her.

Finally, Minako finds Rei outside, sitting at the top of the shrine steps. A soft breeze ripples her hair, long and dark like a waterfall encased in shadow, and Minako finds herself smiling a lopsided smile. She seats herself beside her friend and, still a bit exhausted, leans back on her forearms. Rei knows that she's there, but doesn't turn to face her; she simply continues to sit, elbows on her knees and chin in her hands, gazing ahead blankly and yet with a violet ocean of emotion in her eyes. Minako can see something churning there, and her smile falls.

"You, too?"

Rei doesn't assume any conventional form of acknowledgement here, but seems to tense up. Perhaps, even – and Minako feels her own face begin to flare up at this – _blush_, if only slightly. Well, of course, she thinks, of course she'd blush, when you consider. Of course – the heat of skin upon skin, the sound of breath upon breath, the flow of tongue upon tongue all flood her senses and make her shiver – of course. Before she even knows what she's doing, Minako is sitting up, closer to Rei.

"Please," Minako says, gathering herself, "say something."

But Rei says nothing. Of course, part of Minako was expecting this, but part of her still refuses to be anything but horribly, cripplingly heartbroken at it. Aren't they _friends_, at least? Don't they love each other enough to work this out? Well, Minako knows that _she_ does, but – her head pounds again like someone is rattling her skull, memories of a red hot anger and terrible green jealousy moving dizzily before her gaze – does _Rei_?

At this thought – almost as though right on cue – Rei turns to face her.

"Of course I do!"

Minako can't help but be taken aback. Interestingly enough, Rei seems fairly surprised at her own words as well. Beyond that surprise, though (which quickly succumbs to the knowledge that what's done is done and what's said is said), is a sincerity so clean and so loud that it's blinding and deafening all at once. It's as though, in those four measly words, Rei has invested all the passion and all the emotion she has to invest; as though there's something very, _very _important she's trying to get across here. Something that, perhaps, she didn't realise she needed to before.

And it's that very terrible, ardent sincerity that reminds Minako what her previous incarnation – Minako 1.0, she jokes to herself – had fallen in love with Rei for in the first place. She remembers, and when she does, she can feel herself falling again. Oddly enough, it doesn't feel like the beginning of a fall to her – not like that horrible stomach-churning sensation when you _start_ falling and you're confused and afraid and doomed – but like she's been falling for a while; long enough to be stripped bare of everything but the beauty of the fall.

When she realises this, her face seems infinitely closer to Rei's than it had been before. Their noses are probably less than an inch apart, but the two of them seem entranced just where they are, because they know _what _they want to do but don't fully understand _how _to do it. This time by no work but chance, Minako is the one to break this trance; with all the deliberateness and all the hesitance of the first stroke of a pen, her hand reaches for Rei's jaw, touching it first with her fingertips, then sliding her palm up to meet them. Her thumb moves to Rei's lips and lingers there a moment as the shrine maiden, with firmness and gentleness, takes hold of her other hand. Then, Minako presses her lips to Rei's and closes her eyes.

"I ruined you," Rei breathes. And in that moment, Minako understands what Rei has been trying to say – _it was always you, only you – _that Rei was only ever as consumed in wanting all of Minako to belong to her as Minako had been in being Rei's everything. Serenity, Endymion, duty, the war, the universe: it hadn't been their love that had clouded their judgement of those things, but rather... "I'll ruin you again."

Minako just smiles, and kisses her again.

"Do your worst."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I finally did it, guys. I finally finished this fic. /gross sobbing

It only took all of four months for me to actually start writing this chapter, but I assure you, the delay has a half-descent reason. Personal stuff - my life in general, you could say - has been treating me like shit. I've had a lack of time, yes, but the main reason for not writing is that I've been in the midst of deep, deep depression (for reasons I shall not bore you with) and thus my inspirations have been nothing but dreary and twisted. Seeing as I wanted this epilogue to be at least mildly hopeful, I wasn't feeling it. Honestly, I'm still not feeling it, but here is my honest best attempt in my current condition. I'm really sorry for having been that fanfic author who never updates ;_;

I don't foresee it happening in the near future, but I may or may not revisit this fic and make edits at a later date. If there are any specific changes you'd like to make, just pop me a review saying what and why and I'll give it my honest consideration. This story is actually really important to me, it's the first multi-chap I've ever completed, an experimentation with style that seemed to warrant overall success, and a snapshot of any improvement I may have made over time as a writer. Thanks to everyone who's supported me with reviews and faves, and to anyone who read this fic at all! I'll obviously reply to the rest of reviews here on out using PM, but here are the last replies to go with my last update.

**reiko of mars: **Yep, that's essentially what happened to Rei, although I made it a point not to describe her wounds in detail, partly because of the combination of Minako's own pain and shell shock, and partly to spare the reader haha. Well I hope this epilogue makes you feel a little better! Thanks for all the reviews throughout this story! ^_^

**WolfPeaceMonster: **Well here's the epilogue, finally! The chapter titles for this whole fic have been Florence + the Machine song titles, but the reason for the chapter 7 title in particular (What the Water Gave Me) is partly juxtaposition (water, the opposite of the motif of flame in that chapter) and partly due to the lyric "lay me down, let the only sound be the overflow, pockets full of stones." I felt like that imagery was fitting for the way I chose to kill them off. Thank you for staying with me throughout this fic!

**Serenity I. Shields: **Wow, thank you, I'm so glad you think so! I hope you enjoy the epilogue as much as you enjoyed the rest of it! ^_^

**Kousagi Moon: **Thank you! That really makes me feel like I've achieved my goal here! I hope you find the epilogue up to the same standard!

**elle: **Haha, I'm sorry! In the future I might write longer stuff, but I've never been that good at it. I'm not much of an action writer, y'know, I'm more into doing the weird abstract stuff and all the emotions, if that wasn't already obvious.

Again, I'm sorry, I can't tell you that! Hopefully the epilogue gives you more of an answer to that question, but part of what I had been trying to do up until this point was leave that particular aspect of the story open to interpretation. I hope this chapter gives you the confirmation you need!

**Sereblu: **Thanks! Unfortunately, this will be the end of this particular fic. If there's something else you'd like me to write, either Reinako in general or pertaining to this particular fic (a sequel or an add-on of some sort), then feel free to ask and I will give it my wholehearted consideration. I hope you like this conclusion, though!


End file.
